1. WASTE MANAGEMENT IDEAS
These are some of the ideas that we thought maybe relevant for treating both
solid and liquid waste. Some of these ideas were given to me by Ms. Almitra Patel
(Member Supreme Court Monitoring Committee) who is a friend. We have
modified some of them to make them more efficient.
1. Composting waste in Barrels: This idea came while we were facing
scarcity of land to do composting. Plastic barrels can be taken and holes
made on the sides and at the bottom. The barrel is placed on bricks. The
waste is dumped inside it along with our culture. Air would flow from the
holes and compost the material. A lid is placed on top with a stone to
avoid any animal menace.
Groups could share a barrel and ensure it is not stolen. They could have a
stake in the same. This is being followed in Bangladesh. The NGO there is
paying Rs 2/- per Kg of compost generated and selling themselves to the
market.
2. Waste Segregation at source: This is a novel idea being followed in
Salem. The community is being awarded for their effort to segregate
waste. They give a pencil for every Kg of plastic waste and a notebook for
every 10 Kgs of plastic waste. The Community in turn sells the plastic @
Rs 2.50 per Kg to the market. We could also give lottery or movie tickets
for the same depending upon the value realized.
In the South, they have kept large jars outside temples. People come and
deposit glass into these jars. The glass is sold @ Rs 0/50 per Kg and the
money realized is used for white washing of the temple. Attaching a
religious sentiment could be a very powerful motivation for people to
address their waste.
3. Selling dry waste: We can sell dry waste fairly easily to traders or direct
users. The going rate for the same are: Pet Bottles @ Rs 8/- to Rs 10/- per
Kg and other waste Rs 2/- to Rs 3/- per Kg. Different types of plastics,
glass, metals etc need to be segregated, washed and then sold to get a
better value.
4. Treatment of cesspools outside people’s homes: In order to be treated
and managed properly, drains would need to be made to collect this
water in one place. This water could be treated with our microbial
cultures in a simple pond and then used for irrigating plants like banana
trees, alokasia (can be used for making vegetables), Cana flowers and
Papaya. All these trees and plants can take water logging and would give
food to the slum residents. This is in line with urban agriculture as well.
The best place to have the plantation would be under the high tension
wires, where there is no settlement.
5. Information dissemination: I saw some cable antennas while I was at

2. the colony. If there is a local cable operator, he could run a film or ad for
us, which would go to thousands of homes to create motivation.